[lars_cockswell]

Wow....anyone alive around here?

Now that the East Coast has had another big dump I'm jarred back to the knowledge that next year my STi will need winter tires. My understanding is that the Bridgestone Potenza RE070s just won't cut it for winter driving. Does anyone have suggestions for a really good performance winter tire as a replacement?

 

[alfredob1]

Check here:
http://www.imprezawrxsti.com/postnu...phpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=348&highlight=blizzak

 

[SnowbordrWRX]

Update to that thread...I've only used the Dunlop Winter M2's in the snow once and they worked great! Other than that, I've been driving them on pretty much dry pavement (drove them on ice, they felt bald, but then there's nothing you can do with ice) and the tread is still really good after 5 months. Will swap them out for the stocks once the winter season is over

 

[yxan2]

I drive my Yoko paradas year round in snow what not, works gr8t

 

[miked801]

have you looked at nokian hakkapeliittas at all? that'd be my suggestion for a winter-only tire. second choice would be blizzaks.

 

[1LapGTi]

Anyone try these? They are very popular here in Minnesota with the VW/Audi crowd.

http://www.greendiamondtire.com/index.html

Later,

Enrique

 

[91TB78]

Never tried greendiamond tires..looks different. I wonder how badly they tear up the roads.

As far as Nokian tires..nice tires, especially for the price. I had a nice set of summer Nokian..very good in rainy conditions.

 

[1LapGTi]

Never tried greendiamond tires..looks different. I wonder how badly they tear up the roads.

They are permitted in MN where studded tires are not. From looking at them and feeling the tread, I doesn't seem like they would hurt the roads at all.

Later,

 

[91TB78]

Yeah, I pretty much read the whole site. They claim they are safe for roads and the environment. The only drawback is they only make one 17" sized tire and its more of a sport all-season instead of a dedicated winter tire.

 

[Hawkeye1951]

30 MPG

I installed Dunlop M2 snow tires on our C32. They have been wonderful in the snow, wet, and dry. In the dry they are much more like a very good all season than a snow tire. They are also quiet at highway speeds. I would have no hesitation placing them on any performance car.

 

[SnowbordrWRX]

Fuel Economic Shifting WRX

...They are also quiet at highway speeds. I would have no hesitation placing them on any performance car.

Yep, I agree with you there...I was amazed at how quiet they were.

 

[MKIVSupra]

That is what I need, a good all season tire. We don't get a lot of snow here in Chicago, so about 80% of the time during the winter I will be on dry pavement. Only thing I have to worry about are those few days we get dumped on, and when I go home to Michigan to visit family.

 

[dcgray2]

no sti for me, selling price for wrx? please help

I can tell you what tires don't work well in the snow... Bridegstone S-03 pole positions... They suck really really bad... Pretty much made the car undrivable. I have driven in snow since I started driving and have never gotten stuck or really had any problems and these tires scared the hell out of me.

Not that they are advertised as snow tires or anything, but they were so bad...

Also, I posted a while back that my dealership said the tires were cupping. I pushed the issue with them because they basically said "tires are cupping" and tossed the car back to me. I took some time off work and together we took the wheels and tires off a WRX in their lot and mounted them on mine. Immediately it was obvious that the tires were the problem. We then studied the tires very closely and found that on some of the tires they had "scalloped/cupped" on the inside while the others had done it on the outside. You could actually feel the surface of the tire was not circular but more of a polygon...

I am in the process of trying to get some compensation for the tires (7000 miles on them) but thought I would pass on my tale of woe.

I have read enough on this forum and others to push me to buy a 17" set of M2s for next winter. Tirerack has nice feedback forums that you might want to browse for opinions.

 

[91TB78]

Part of the reason the S-03s are horrible in snow is not just traction its that any high performance tire compound hardens considerably in cold weather.

 

[murley]

i have a customer sho has 17"'s and he has the Pirelli SS P7000's on his WRX. They are Z rated and also M+S. He said that they did Great in the snow, suprisingly! Now we all know that if you're gettin on it that NO tires will help in the snow, right...? )

 

[dcgray2]

Part of the reason the S-03s are horrible in snow is not just traction its that any high performance tire compound hardens considerably in cold weather.

Absolutely agree! Only problem is that I didn't know that "then". But I have learned!

 

[wojo]

I can tell you what tires don't work well in the snow... Bridegstone S-03 pole positions... They suck really really bad... Pretty much made the car undrivable. I have driven in snow since I started driving and have never gotten stuck or really had any problems and these tires scared the hell out of me.

I will 2nd that. Love those tires, but they get zero traction in the snow.

 

[TO60IN6]

http://www.tirerack.com

Compare Tirerack's witer-only tires for the STi. I would probably try the Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport because of the high non-snow scores and very decent snow traction. Although the snow traction isn't as high as the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50, it's dry and wet scores are much better than the Blizzak's. And since I live in an area that doesn't get a lot of snow it would be a good compromise for performance in the dry and wet. Just my $.02.

 

[ValvetrainEngineer]

Ditch the spare!!

I'm going with the Blizzak WS-50's again - I was cruising past SUV's the past 2 winters with my Integra in the CT snow...

 

[TL-racer/STi-driver]

Re: Security System Update

I have an idea for a cheap set of winter wheels and tires. It is hard to find wheels that fit and that are somewhat small in size that the tires would be fairly reasonably priced, right. I am thinking of buying some black steel wheels that will fit over the monster brakes on our cars and put some true winter tires on them. You wonder where we are going to find a steel wheel that will fit huh. Check the trunk. We could buy a set of the small spare tire sized wheels and put some snow tires on those. The skinny size would just cut through the snow and snow tires that width would be pretty cheap. Besides have you seen the rally snow tires. They are four inches wide. I don't think the spikes would be legal in most part of the country though. I think it would look pretty cool with the black wheels on all of the colors.